Law Day

I've been doing Law Day for fifteen years now.  Friday was Law Day in DeKalb County.  Normally we observe the first Friday in May as Law Day, but this year it got moved to accommodate better scheduling.  So what is Law Day?  Lets see what the trusty Wikipedia has to say:

Long before President Dwight D. Eisenhower declared it, May 1st was May Day. A day to remember the struggles of workers who were killed or oppressed in their fight for better wages and working conditions. 
Counter to this, Eisenhower proclaimed May 1 (Previously known as May Day or International Workers' Day) would now be known as Law Day, U.S.A. in 1958.  Its observance was later codified into law by Public Law 87-20 on April 7, 1961. (Thanks, Wikipedia)

Erik Weber deserves a lot of credit for the way Law Day is run.  Typically he coordinates it, makes sure all the classes get covered, and makes sure we have party favors for the class.  This year we had a pen, pencil, button, and T-shirt. I had two classes.  I kept the pens, gave the teachers the buttons, and let the teachers give away the T-shirts.  I cannot account for both pencils, but i think Stephanie and Cari are getting them.  Additionally the Bar Association selects a book of two to put in each school's library.  I like to imagine that at lest one of these books has been looked at by a student.

Now we know what Law Day is.  But what is law day for me?  Law Day is mostly about me going back to DeKalb High School and looking in on things there.  I don't go to DeKalb every year, but most years i get one or more classes there. Most of the teachers i had are now gone, so i no longer visit with them.  I do check to see if the plaque for National Merit Finalists is still up.  It is, DHS has still not had another year with three finalists.,seems that most years they do not have one.

This year i signed in at the front desk.  When i started doing Law Day there was less security and i would simply wander in and try to find the class i was covering.  No i sign in because it is the done thing.  I refuse to wear the lanyard, like i do all lanyards and ID badges.  Claramary warns that someday the Commissioners will make all DeKalb employees wear ID badges, fortunately judges are not county employees, otherwise i might look like a jerk when i refuse to wear mine.  But that day is five years into the future and if obama is re-elected, janet napolitano and homeland security will probably issue everyone badges and you will have to be groped before entering any public building.  Keep this in mind when voting in 2012.

So then i was met by my teacher, she was younger than i. I would observe most of the teachers were younger than i.  This was an odd sensation.  After twenty-two years DHS does not regress me back to the eighteen year old version of myself any longer, but it is strange to be older than the teachers.  The students never get any older, so they do not make me feel old, but seeing these fresh young teachers did, a little.

I could go on to tell you about the students and their questions.  How the one girl was appalled that i was so callous in doing my job.  How i met the guy in my class that people would tell me was what i was like as a senior.  But let's face it, you have all heard these stories before so i won't belabor them here.  I did tell the students not to be lawyers, be dentists instead.  Next year i will select something else because it is far too difficult to get into dental school now for a typical kid to think about getting in to dental school.  Maybe i will suggest CPA.

I am now bored with this subject so i will wrap it up so i can go play Bioshock.

Later

Bob